This is a nice review of general types.
Engine oil review.
- Thread starter Mr Boochie
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H2oman7.62mm
Super Member
I just use quality oil and filters, and I change both of them every 4 to 5 thousand miles or yearly.
Synthetic is great, but I believe it's a waste of money considering my chosen maintenance schedule.
Synthetic is great, but I believe it's a waste of money considering my chosen maintenance schedule.
Ross6860
Super Member
You are correct.
Any oil that meets your API Service and recommended oil weight should be fine.
We were looking to solve two issues: oil life in general and cam-follower failure on a specific engine family.
We had engines that never changed oil. So did a little company called Roadway, they bled lube oil into their fuel. Filter changes only.
We also did some automotive endurance racing, so the results were a side benefit.
I change the oil in our vehicles and find that using the synthetic oil in the video, a Walmart brand, isn't much more expensive than using conventional oil. Also, Mobil 1 can be bought from Amazon for not much more than the Walmart brand. The cost of opting for full synthetic is very high when using the services of a shop to do the oil change. There is a trick when buying oil from Amazon when the capacity of the engine is greater than five quarts. This is to buy a case of six individual quarts and then buy five quart containers and use one of the individual quarts for each oil change. Amazon charges a premium for individual quarts but sells the five quart containers for a substantial discount. I do agree with you that there isn't much of a difference in using conventional or synthetic when oil change intervals are 5k miles, or less. The exception to this is if the vehicle is seeing severe duty conditions, sustained high loads and/or temperature extremes during operation.
I do the same. Spending crazy money on an oil filter is a waste when 5k, or even somewhat longer, change intervals are being followed. I buy Motocraft filters by the dozen off Amazon.
jayvis
Addicted Member
Each one of our two vehicles are only driven between 5000 and 7500 miles a year. Both get one full synthetic oil and filter change a year as specified by their owners' manuals. The advantages of full synthetic oil are higher miles and longer time between changes. One oil change per year is all I want to deal with anymore, and the total cost isn't any more than if I was using conventional oil with two changes per year.
last time I bought oil for my truck I got it from Rockauto. It was cheaper per-quart to buy 6 single quarts vs a larger container. Seems pretty stupid to me, and its a whole lot less convenient for disposal too.
I use this for my old Hondas. Change at 7500-10,000 miles, with a new OEM Honda oil filter.
Govany
Super Member
I didn't mean because they are cheap (their not) I meant because they perform better..I've seen some of the el-cheapo brands that the oil change places use that just would not flow oil
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My car manual recommended 3000 mile changes on my 1994 Mazda Protege. That's what I do. It's always had conventional oil or synthetic blend (which has mostly the same additives as conventional oil), and that's what I will continue to use. Just replaced the valve cover gasket- at 30 years old and 227K miles, the internals of the engine were completely clean- no real deposits visible anywhere.
My Nissan pickup has used Mobil 1 since new. I still use that, and change it between 5000 and 6000 miles. Just had the valve cover gaskets replaced on that too, at 29 years old and 205K miles - and the shop said it was "astonishingly clean" inside, compared to others of similar type they've seen. It uses NO oil. I don't have to add ANY between changes, whatsoever.
In both cases, I always use the same type of oil, consistently. The biggest oil-related failures I've ever seen were from changing from one type of oil to a drastically different type- different additive packages and such caused disruption of the deposits inside the engine. I've seen engines that never burned oil, start burning oil, hydraulic lifter issues, and even stuff like bearing failures, because of this. Unless it's a fresh engine- just let it be, as much as possible. Pick a product type, and keep using it. It's not so much about brand- but about what's in the oil...
Regards,
Gordon.
My Nissan pickup has used Mobil 1 since new. I still use that, and change it between 5000 and 6000 miles. Just had the valve cover gaskets replaced on that too, at 29 years old and 205K miles - and the shop said it was "astonishingly clean" inside, compared to others of similar type they've seen. It uses NO oil. I don't have to add ANY between changes, whatsoever.
In both cases, I always use the same type of oil, consistently. The biggest oil-related failures I've ever seen were from changing from one type of oil to a drastically different type- different additive packages and such caused disruption of the deposits inside the engine. I've seen engines that never burned oil, start burning oil, hydraulic lifter issues, and even stuff like bearing failures, because of this. Unless it's a fresh engine- just let it be, as much as possible. Pick a product type, and keep using it. It's not so much about brand- but about what's in the oil...
Regards,
Gordon.
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The new car standards equate to every 10K miles. Don't trust it, it's a money grab and nothing motor/oil wise has changed. Every 5K at least, there's a reason you see older cars still on the road after 20+ yrs and everyone else drives new.
